Falling For a Wolf Box Set (BBW Werewolf / Shifter Romance)

by Mac Flynn

  I sighed and my shoulders slumped. "All right, but you go first."

  Adam bowed his head and turned toward the rocks. He leapt onto the middle rock three yards into the creek and jumped to the opposite side of the creek. Adam turned and smiled at me. "Just like me," he instructed me.

  My face dropped. "I could if you made me into a werewolf," I argued.

  "That won't be arranged for this occasion, and we are losing daylight," he scolded.

  I furrowed my brow, stiffened my upper lip, and walked back a few yards. "All right, but stand back. I'm going to need a lot of room for my landing."

  I made a running start and leapt from the bank. The first stone was fine, but when my other foot hit the second stone it slipped on the mossy surface. I let out a yelp and flailed my arms as I fell back. A flash of color flew from the opposite side and I prepared for a hard, cold splash. Instead, I fell into the hard, warm arms of Adam. He himself stood in the half a foot-deep rushing water while my feet swung in the air.

  Adam smiled at me. "Care to have me carry you now?" he offered.

  "You can carry me across the water, but drop me on the shore," I commanded him.

  He sighed, but bowed his head. "Very well."

  Adam waded through the water with me in his arms and dropped me feet-first on the hard ground of the opposite shore. He climbed up the steep embankment and shook his legs. I glanced down at his legs and saw he dripped creek water on the cold ground. "Did you need to change clothes?"

  He shook his head. "No, it would be easier if I merely removed my shoes and socks."

  I blinked at him. "So are you changing or not?"

  "Not." He sat down on a nearby rock and removed his shoes and socks as he said.

  Adam stretched his feet out and my eyes widened as I watched his toes and arches stretch outward. His toenails lengthened to sharp points and fur sprouted on the tops. His feet narrowed and the ankles moved back. He stood and the change in his features forced him to stand on his toes and the first few inches of his feet. I gawked at his wolf feet while he packed his shoes and socks in his bag, and when he finished he noticed my staring.

  "I hope you won't mind. These feet are much more useful for this terrain than my shoes."

  "Can I. . .can I pet them?" I requested.

  He raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

  I shrugged. "Because you've never let me pet your fur before, and I wanted this chance."

  Adam chuckled. "Very well."

  I knelt down and set my bag beside me. The feet were in my sight and within reach. I wiggled my fingers and dove at them, intent on avenging myself for Adam's past indiscretion with my ticklishness. My plan hit a roadblock, or rather a fur-block, when I couldn't really feel his skin beneath the thick bunch of fuzz. I pressed my fingers into the soft, bunchy stuff, and came away with not revenge but a feeling of mink-like softness.

  "What are you doing?" Adam asked me.

  I tilted my head back and sheepishly smiled at him. "Trying to tickle you?" I squeaked.

  He smiled. "I'm afraid I am not as ticklish as you, particularly when my body is covered in as thick a fur as my transformation offers."

  My face drooped, I saddled my bag on my back, and stood. "You're no fun," I grumbled.

  Adam gently took hold of the crook of my arm and led me toward the ATV tracks. "There will be plenty of chances for fun when we have finished your revenge on your car and cabin," he reminded me.

  We reached the spot where the pipe started and I glanced down the hill. The incline was gentle and the hill was covered with the remains of spring and summer flowers. The frost had killed the latter, and the ATV trail made a horrible gash in the frosted grass. The trail followed the pipe until both disappeared into the thick trees and brush at the bottom of the hill. I glanced farther down the valley. There wasn't a sign of an electric pole or road.

  I jerked my head toward the valley. "Anyone told this valley that the eighteenth century passed?"

  "Not yet, but we will introduce it to the twenty-first," Adam replied.

  We walked down the ATV trail and slipped beneath the dark canopy. By this time half the day had passed and the weather had taken a turn for the worse. Dark gray clouds drifted overhead and the air grew colder. I buried myself deeper in my coat, but the cold crept inside and I couldn't stop myself from shivering.

  "Did God forget to close the door?" I chattered.

  Adam stopped and glanced at the sky through the trees. "No, but in our eagerness to start this journey we neglected to remember Agnes' warning about the weather. She spoke of a snow warning, and I believe it may be coming this night."

  I ground my chattering teeth together. "Great, just what we need, a mess of snow on the ground."

  "It may be worse than that. We should find or build a shelter. You remain on the trail and I will forge through the brush," Adam offered.

  I looked to the sides of the trail. The brush was thick with brambles and their pointy needles and twigs. "No problem," I told him.

  And with that our plans for revenge changed to plans for retreat. Adam pushed through the brush and vanished among the mess of trees. I tried to keep myself warm by running in place, rubbing my arms, and yodeling. Well, not that last part, but I did find that because of the thickness of the canopy and the tunnel-like quality of the path there was a slight echo.

  "Hello down there," I called.

  "There, ere, ere," my voice called back.

  "Food. Midgets."

  "Ood. Idgets."

  "If you're quite done then I found a spot for us."

  I jumped and spun around to find Adam beside me. His backpack was gone and his clothes were the worse for wear because of the thorns. "Don't do that to me! I thought you were one of those brothers snuck up on me!"

  "That may be the case if you continue your noise-making," he pointed out.

  I cringed. "Damn. Forgot about that. Must be the cold freezing my brain."

  "We will remedy that if you will let me carry you," Adam offered.

  The brambles stared at me, daring me to ford through them. "For once I think that's a really good idea," I agreed.

  Chapter 9

  Adam easily lifted me in his arms and over the brush on our journey through the trees. The dirt path vanished behind us, replaced by rocky, uneven ground. The way grew rockier and the hill grew closer. "Are we going backwards?" I asked him.

  "In a slight curve," he admitted.

  In another minute the ground transformed into a mess of rocks, and the trees parted to reveal a landslide from days of old. Boulders the size of small houses lay piled on top of one another and against the hillside. Smaller bits of crushed rock and gravel covered the area in a slippery slope of slippitude. Among the gray hues I caught a glimpse of Adam's backpack. It was nestled inside a cave created by the house-size boulders, and the cave itself was the size of a small bedroom. We slipped through the entrance and Adam set me down on the crushed-rock floor.

  The low ceiling forced even me to hunch over, and I quickly sat down to ease the back pain. "Not bad," I commented.

  "It will be better once I start the fire," he promised. He piled some of the floor into a ring and slipped outside.

  In a moment he returned with his arms full of wood, and in a second there was a crackling fire between us. The flames cast tall shadows behind us as the weather outside grew worse. The sun completely vanished and the air dropped below freezing. A few warning flurries fell from the sky, and I shivered and inched closer to the fire.

  "You think this'll last very long?" I asked him.

  "It's difficult to tell. If the wind arrives the storm will be worse, but shorter," Adam commented.

  "So blizzard material," I commented. I shivered at the thought of being stuck in a cave in the middle of a valley with the word 'lost' in its name. My feet were sore, my stomach growling, and somehow I already had sap on my clothes. "I just had to walk on my own, didn't I?" I grumbled to myself.

  Adam scooted himself so he sat besi
de me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "Don't blame yourself. The distance to the end of the road was greater than even I anticipated."

  "Well, if push comes to shove you can always eat me," I quipped.

  He chuckled. "I would rather it be the other way around, but I must warn you human meat isn't especially tasty."

  I cringed. "Speaking from personal experience?"

  "Unfortunately, yes. There was this one gentleman doctor in England in the eighteen-twenties who vehemently believed in werewolves. He managed to catch one of my kind, a young woman newly transformed, and was intent on dissecting her for science."

  I snorted. "Sounds like someone we know, minus the urge to drink tea."

  Adam smiled. "Only the professions were similar. This man was not as kind as Doc to even his fellow humans, and it was quite difficult to infiltrate his estate and rescue the she-wolf. I'm afraid I had to bite the man's arm off when he attempted to shoot us with a pistol full of silver bullets."

  My face dropped and my eyes widened. "Seriously?"

  He chuckled. "Seriously."

  I frowned and buried myself deeper in my coat. "How come you're telling me the cool stories when I don't even have a pen and pencil with me?" I grumbled.

  Adam leaned down and nuzzled the back of my ear. "To distract you from the cold," he teased.

  He just had to remind me, especially when the storm outside took a turn for the worse. A gust of wind blew past the opening to our little stone sanctuary and the flames of warmth flickered in the fire pit. I shivered and scooted closer to him. "Bad timing," I told him.

  "So it seems." He began to remove his shirt, and I leaned away and blinked at him.

  "I think it's even worse timing for that," I commented.

  "This is the perfect time," he countered.

  I leaned close to him and raised an eyebrow. "I don't mph-" A large clump of fur sprouted from the smooth skin on his side and I received a face-full of the fluffy stuff. I pressed my hands against the fluffy fur to tame it and leaned back to spit out a few hairs that were lodged in my mouth. "You could have warned me."

  He chuckled. "This was much more amusing." I rolled my eyes and snuggled up against his fur as compensation. A memory came to mind that made me giggle through my chattering teeth. "Are you doing well?" Adam asked me. He sounded like he was worried about my mental well-being.

  I waved off his concerns. "I'm fine, I was just remembering that story Doc told me about you getting electrocuted at his place. I'm really glad your fur doesn't smell singed."

  "I would be glad to make you thankful for many other things about me," he teased.

  A sly smile slipped onto my lips. "Funny, I was thinking the same thing." I raised myself a few inches and captured his lips into a warm, sensual kiss. His arms wrapped around me and my entire body reveled in the feel of his soft fur tickling my neck. My hands grasped his fur and my fingers tangled in the thick, luxurious tendrils of hair.

  After a moment Adam pulled away and his teasing eyes gazed down at me. "You know, we only just met a few weeks ago," he reminded me.

  I grinned. "Really? It feels like we've known each other forever." We leaned toward each other and our lips locked in another passionate, demanding kiss. My body warmed to his touch. I felt on fire as I was engulfed in the feeling of him against me. My only thoughts were to tear off my clothes and let him have his way with me.

  Adam yanked his head away so fast my face fell flat against his furry chest. I sputtered and freed myself from his fur, and glared up at him. "If you didn't want to kiss you could have-"

  "Shh," Adam whispered. His voice and face were strained, and he leaned one pointy ear toward the entrance to the cave.

  "What is it?" I whispered.

  "Voices," he explained.

  He pulled away from me and crawled to the opening. A light skiff of snow lay on the ground, and he scooped a handful and doused the fire with the cool water. The cave went dark and I tried not to breath as I listened for the voices that I almost hoped were in his head.

  I heard them. Two voices. They were far-off, but getting closer. A large dog howled and another joined. Footsteps crunched in the falling snow. Adam had returned to the opening, and I slunk up beside him. We had a good view of the rock pile beneath us, and fifty yards through the trees we glimpsed a couple of tall, ungainly shapes with lithe dog-like shapes beside them.

  "Ah told you Ah heard somethin', and the dogs have found somethin'," a voice spoke up. There was a distinct twang that warned me this wasn't a rescue party. This was the Owens brothers with a couple of dogs.

  "Maybe yer just getting paranormal, Clem," the other figure, who I deduced was Clyde, retorted.

  "That's paranoid, ya idiot," Clem snarled.

  "Well, whatever it is yer it because Ah don't see nothing around here except snow," Clyde growled.

  "And ya think the dogs found just snow?" Clem countered.

  "Maybe they found a skunk. We could use some more of that scent."

  "They don't howl with skunks, ya idiot, now get pushing through these damn bushes." Clem shoved Clyde ahead of him.

  I let out a small yelp when Adam grabbed the scruff of my coat and pulled me deeper into the cave. He stared me straight in the eyes and I noticed his eyes held a distinct yellow color to them. "I will lead them away, and when they've gone you return to the trail and follow it back to the dam."

  "I will," I promised.

  He smiled and clasped my chin in his hand. I noticed it was more claw than human hand now. His thumb stroked my cheek. "Be safe."

  "You, too," I insisted.

  Adam nodded and slunk from the cave. He scurried down the rocky slope and was as quiet as an elephant in a bubble wrap factory. At the bottom he tilted back his head and let out a piercing howl. The dogs loosed their own howls and bolted forward, dragging their owners with them on their leashes.

  "What the hell's gotten into you mutts?" Clem yelled at them.

  Adam took off leftward and in a moment the brothers and dogs broke through the brush and trees. The dogs were large rottweiler-doberman mixes. Saliva dripped from their large mouths and they bared their teeth in hideous growls. The hounds put their noses to the ground and caught Adam's scent at the bottom of the rocks. They yanked the brothers after Adam, and in a moment everyone had disappeared.

  I waited until the noises died to nothing and made my way down the slope with my backpack on my back. The snow fell around me in large, soft clumps of wetness. I hit the end of the rocks and raced into the trees following the trail blazed by Adam and the brothers. In a few minutes I stumbled onto the snow-covered ATV road. The brothers' vehicles sat in front of me with baskets for their dogs.

  I barely had time to notice there were three ATVs when a shadow leapt from the trees on my left and grabbed me. The figure clapped their dirty hand over my mouth and the smell of chemicals wafted into my nostrils. "Don't move or I'll snap your neck," the voice, a man's, growled. His free hand wandered over my waist and at my sides. He tore off my backpack and pushed me to the ground beside the ATVs.

  I had my first good look at him and had no idea who he was. He was about forty with spectacles on his thin, long nose. His dark hair was slicked back and his heavy clothes were spotted with stains. He rummaged through my bag, keeping one eye on me and one eye on what he was doing. When he was finished he tossed the bag into the brush and stood over me.

  "No badge or gun, so who are you?"

  I crawled backward until my back hit one of the vehicles. "J-just a hiker," I told him.

  He leaned down at stared at me with beady, unblinking eyes. "Hiking in the middle of winter?" he pointed out.

  I shrugged. "We-I didn't know it would snow," I replied. The slip made him raise an eyebrow.

  "'We?' How many of there are you?" he questioned me.

  "Just me, but I thought I saw two other guys around here. They had some dog, and I thought they were hikers, too," I replied.

  He grabbed my arm in a tight grasp an
d yanked me to my feet. "You're a worse liar than those idiot brothers, but I'll get you to talk." He pulled me to farthest ATV, but I struggled in his grasp.

  "What are you doing? Let me go!" I demanded.

  The man pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and pressed it against my nose and mouth. I barely had time to comprehend it was chloroform before the world went black.

  Chapter 10

  I knew nothing until a hand whacked me across one cheek. I started awake and my bleary eyes registered I was no longer on the path. My surroundings now consisted of a wooden shack made of slabs of clapboards. In front of me was the thin door, and on my left was a kitchen of sorts with a wooden counter and sink. On the right were three cots. There was only a single window on each wall, and a weak light bulb hung from the ceiling above me. I sat on a chair with my hands tied behind the back.

  Two feet in front of me stood a backward facing chair, and in the chair sat the stranger. On either side of him stood the brothers, and their slimy smirks told me the bespectacled guy was the least of my worries. One of the brothers stepped around the chair and leaned into my face with his own.

  "She's a perdy little thing, ain't she?" he commented. His breath could have stunned a yak. For me it only caused bile to climb my throat and I turned my face away from him.

  "Get yer dumb face out of hers, Clyde," Clem ordered his brother.

  Clyde glanced over his shoulder and sneered at him. "Why don't you get yer dumb face out of here and see if you can't find that scent that got away?"

  The stranger sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Quiet, both of you," he ordered them. They continued to scowl at each other, but shut up. The stranger turned his attention to me. "You said you weren't alone, but my-shall we say, partners followed another trail. Where is your companion?"

  I shrugged. "I don't know. He left me."

  "Ah told you there was somebody. It's probably that feller who lives near her," Clem hissed at Clyde.

  "Why did he leave you?" the stranger continued.

  "He got scared by the dogs," I replied.

  "You're lying again," the stranger scolded me.